Bakewell Weekender

'Social' Edge Cycleworks Shop Ride

Day 2: Sun 19th Sep '10

Not only was everyone still ill or working but Paul had been collared by his other half to do the decorating. The car park at the start of the ride was empty when I arrived. Oh dear. Thankfully a few minutes later Dan emerged from a car parked along the road. I think he was as happy to see me as I was him. He finally knew he was in the right place and I had someone to ride with.

We climbed out of Bakewell in the opposite direction from the previous day and soon found ourselves dripping with sweat. Dark clouds were threatening rain but out of the wind it wasn’t that cool. It always seemed like we were wearing our waterproofs at the wrong time. So followed a day of on again, off again with our layers.

The start of the ride was busy with tourists but we left them behind as we headed away from the Chatsworth valley.  After that it felt like we had the hills to ourselves. The dry trails of the day before were gone, which made riding a tricky combination of slippery mud and even more slippery limestone. It was great fun though and made us more than happy to have braved the conditions.

The final descent was a boulder strewn track off High Rake. All the rocks were wet limestone that had as much grip as ice. We both reached the bottom giggling after plenty of 'off the brakes, straight line and hope' moments. After this all that was left was a nice calming ride along the Monsal Trail back to Bakewell.

Bakewell & Longstone Edge route guide

Click here for Day 1: Bakewell - Beeley Hill